Tales to Astonish

Well, it was nice to see the Napoleon Dynamite fans come out in full force for today's Tonight Show. I think Napoleon Dynamite is one of those movies that is really a good character judger. It's like if someone really likes and "gets" that movie than you can tell that they are of a certain cool sensibility. So it was pretty cool to see dozens of "Vote for Pedro" T-shirts and whatnot when I went out to greet the line. It's always a good feeling to see that no matter how obscure your interests are, others out there share them. I felt like I was among my people or something. But of course I was just some guy spouting the nbc company line and wearing a dorky uniform, so outwardly I was not really a fellow Napoleon fan, but just a corporate suit in training. Oh well, it was nice to see the geeks a-representin.'

Something did happen in line today that really freaked me out and I couldn't get it out of my head. This middle-aged guy at the front of the line approached me, just like totally shaking in anger. He started yelling something to me about being separated from his friends who had already been admitted inside, and just really shaking, like I really thought he might have a heart attack or something. I wasn't even sure exactly what he was saying or asking, but I was trying to tell him that we couldn't always keep large groups together inside, that was just the way it worked. And suddenly he just got even more angry and said how this was ridiculous and he'd been waiting in line all day, and he was just quivering ... and he literally grabbed his wife and pulled her away and just stormed off out of line and right down Almeda Ave. It was just really shocking. And riht before that I was joking around with these people who were like oh yeah, your job must be so fun and whatnot. After that they just looked at me and shook their heads knowingly. It was just a really weird, crazy incident that I couldn't shake off for a while.

The show was okay ... Cate Blanchett had one of those weird, uncomfortable and semi-perverted seeming interviews that Jay Leno sometimes does, where he asks all these sex related questions but in a kind of shy way that comes off as really sketchy. Also ... wow did that monologue bomb today (please tell me no one from nbc is reading this ...). Jon Hedder from N. Dynamite seemed like a really cool guy, very down to earth. Oh, and what happened to Howie Mandell? The bald, goateed, aging hipster that showed up late at the show today was a total 180 from the curly-haired nice-guy who I fondly remember as the host and creator of Bobby's World. Then Ashanti did her pop diva dance thang, and that was kind of a cool spectacle.

Tommorow I am working until 8 pm to do the Dennis Miller show. Should be interesting, but it's gonna be a loooooong day.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

- Okay, these facebook.com mass emails have gotten waaaaaaaay out of hand.

- Sorry to hear about one of my all time favorite coaches, Rudy T, stepping down from the Lakers. Sure, I don't like the Lakers, but I have always found Rudy T. to be one of the more inspiring figures in the NBA, and I'll never forget his famous "Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion" speech after he and the Rockets won their first title in the '90's. He really seems like such an intense personality, I can see how coaching must take a huge mental and physical toll on him. Best of luck to him in whatever he decides to do in the future.

- I have really enjoyed the last few episodes of Jack and Bobby. They are really toning down the mother character and are also humanizing Jack and making him a lot less annoying. Oh and FINALLY JAck is ridding himself of Missy, the most annoying TV girlfriend around. While they do need to do a better job of linking the current drama with the fast-forward Bobby-as-President segments, they seem to be striking a nice balance between a John Hughes high school drama and the "how will he achieve his destiny?" aspect of a show like Smallville. Speaking of which ...

- Wow! A total turnaround from last episode's total sucktitude. This was a DAMN GOOD episode of Smallville, which is amazing as it was continued from last week's very lame "very special episode." THIS is what Smallville is about, what Superman should be about. Heroism, morality, truth, hope, faith, friendship, good vs. evil, alienation, loss, mystery, and action. It was a very genuine, emotional moment when Alicia met her untimely fate. And despite the fact that she's been involved in a pair of highly lame storylines, I really like the actress who plays Alicia, I predict she'll be doing big things in the future. The Chloe storyline was actually handled very well, and Lois' character is progressing nicely and really adds to the show. And then there was ACTION that was driven by EMOTION and CONFLICT. Finally. Plus, there was a return to the foreshadowing of Clark as Superman, with a really nice analysis of how a symbol like Superman can inspire people to accept others who are different. Good stuff. Sure, the Jason / Lana subplot is still cheesy and ridiculous, and Tom Welling still needs to work a bit on his acting range, but here's hoping this is a turning point and the show can finish up its run as strong as it started. My grade: A-

So since I'll be doing a Dennis Miller taping tommorow, I'll try to end with a Dennis Miller-esque quote. Let's see ... yeah. Nope, sorry, that would consume way too much time and brainpower than I'm currently willing to expend right now. How DOES he do it?